Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-05-21
A SNAKE FARM.
How the Rattlesnakes Have Made Cap
tain Slower Rich.

tain Slower Rich.
A correspondent has visited the cele-
brated snake farm" rattlesnake forty ~
near Cation, Illinois, owned and managed
by Captain Dan. Slower and wife, and as
sisted by William Dunn, agent of the Hi
nois Central Depot. 1t might be surmised
that the breeding and propagation of
rattlesnakes and other reptiles was not only
dangerous but an unpleasant occupation.
However, these poor but honest people
have learned that there is money in
snakes, and last year they cleared almost
enough from their sales to pay the ex-
penses of the family of four
"Who buys rattlesnakes, and what on
earth do they want with them p. you ask
Why, for use in the manufacture of the
new cure for rheumatism. A firm in Phila-
delphia uses the oil in their remedy, and
pays good price for every rattlesnake de-
livered at their laboratory. Mr.. Slower
has contracted with the firm to furnish
them two hundred and fifty of that species
during the present season at 81 % each,
none to measure less than four feet in
length, or to be less than six years of age.
The older the snake the better and stronger
the oil.
Sunday the sun shone out bright and
warm, which brought out the snakes in
large numbers to bask in the warm rays,
and, as Mr.. Slower said, would be a good
day to take stroll over rattlesnake
forty" Procuring good stout stick and
donning heavy pair of boots, your cor
respondent joined Slower and Dunn in the
hunt. Dunn is a comparatively new man
in the snake business, and has had several
narrow escapes from being bitten by the
deadly reptiles, but he is learning fast. To
show us how easy it is to kill snake, he
picked up blue racer by the tail, that
was lying coiled up in the sunlight, in a
half comatose condition, and giving it a
couple of whirls over his head in light
ming manner, he cracked it like whip,
causing its head to part from its body and
spin through the air. Proceeding little
further, we came to "the mounds" little
raised places on the snake farm, where the
snakes burrow in winter and breed in sum-
mer. There are thirty-seven Of these
mounds on the farm, and on the south side
of one of the largest of these, where they
could get the full benefit of the sun, lay
coiled up sound asleep, fortythree large
rattlesnakes seven blacksnakes and numer-
Gus other smaller reptiles, not one of which
seemed to recognize our presence. Slower
and Dunn do not kill off the whole crop
yearly, but leave many for breeding pur-
poses.
"Why," said the former, that mound
there contains probably dozen nests of
eggs, and each nest at least ten eggs.
have found nests that contained as high
as eighteen young rattlers, the largest not
over two inches in length. Their eggs are
about the size of those of partridge, but
| have soft she'll The farm is tract OF
virgin prairie, and has never seen pillow,
and Dan says in summer its native grass is
very high, rendering it an excellent place
| for the reptiles to hide in"
After retiring to the house, the two
snake-breeders exhibited a string of rattles
several feet in length, which they captured
last summer, the whole footing up 768 rat
! ties.
Some of the snakes possessed twenty-five
rattles and button, each rattle counting
| year to its age and the button a fraction
of year.
Mrs. Slower also had in a box of sawdust
| under cook-stove twenty-seven rattle.
| snake eggs, which, she said, would begin
to hatch in few days, after which event
the children would be kept busy catching
| flies to feed the tiny pets.
Slower and Dunn have several pet rat,
tiers around the house, which are as harm.
less as kittens, made so by their poison sac
having been removed from the roofs OF
their mouths and their fangs clipped with
pinchers, all this being done while the
snakes were under the influence of chloro-
| form. They have no equal as mice exter-
minators, and in summer keep the place
free from bugs, flies and bad boys.
1t is needless to say the neighbors' chill
dren do not trouble the Slower household
or their premises.
Besides supplying the Philadelphia firm
with snakes for their use, the breeders
have filled orders for different parties in
all parts of the country. A doctor in ST.
Louis took several live pairs last summer
at So per pair Cincinnati Gazette.